Solar panel plant giving horses ulcers

A Devens solar panel plant is so noisy the horses have ulcers, the ducks have disappeared and a dog has started gnawing off doorknobs.

The neighbours in this farming community near Harvard are angry. The Evergreen Solar Inc.’s highly touted plant has been referred to by the state Gov. Deval Patrick as “the leading edge of our clean energy economy,” but the non-stop noise is driving neighbors crazy and making their animals sick. “To work in my garden, I have to wear headphones,” said Janice Perry, an acupuncturist whose Harvard farm abuts Evergreen’s new 450,000-square-foot manufacturing plant. Perry and her neighbors have complained about noise coming from the plant which stretches the length of three football fields. The company has said the plant will one day employ 700 people and make 780,000 solar panels a year. Evergreen has already been served with two noise ordinance violations issues by the Devens Enterprise Commission, which regulates the plant and other businesses on what used to be Fort Devens. “This green-energy company has polluted the neighborhood with noise, and it seems not to be working very hard to correct this,” Perry said. Evergreen spokesman Chris Lawson said the company is “really fully committed to working with the community.” The neighbours are not satisfied. They initially thought the noise was related to the massive plant’s construction, which began last July. In January, nearby residents realized the noise stemmed from the manufacturing process and began complaining. “Imagine tuning your radio to a station that gets only static,” said Jay Wallace, co-owner of Dunroven Farm. “Then imagine having to listen to that 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That’s what we are living with.” In response to the neighbours' concerns, Evergreen has installed sound-dampening devices, replaced defective blower units, and changed its gas delivery schedules and has also hired a noise consultant. The neighbours say the noise is still a problem and that could mean trouble for Evergreen. The plant has temporary occupancy permit that expires this month, and the enterprise commission has told neighbors the plant won’t get a permanent occupancy permit until the noise levels drop, in addition, the company also faces possible daily fines for noise violations. Lawson vowed Evergreen will fix the problem “so we can move on and do what we do best, which is making solar panels.”